I have written about this subject before, consequently my apologies if this all sounds old hat, but trying to explain my thoughts to a friend recently found him unable to listen without continuously interrupting, so this is specifically for him, if he really wants to know my opinion...
Too much froth!
Trading standards officers have regularly found that publicans take advantage of guidelines that pints of beer can be served containing only 95 per cent liquid, thus allowing for a 'head' on the beer. The Weights and Measures Act 1985, however, stipulated that a pint of beer should be a pint, not 19 fluid ounces, nor 17 or 18 fluid ounces, but a full pint, aka 20 fluid ounces. Indeed, in the 1970s up to 50% of real ale was served from metered electric beer pumps into over-size glasses, meaning there was no wastage and a full pint was delivered every time. If you have never seen or heard of this, it was more regular in the Midlands and further North, notably in pubs owned by the following breweries: Banks, Greenalls, Boddingtons, Hydes, Robinsons, Wards, Stones, and Gales down South.
Too much waste!
Frustratingly, a 1982 court ruling stipulated that a head of froth was "an integral part" of a pint, and that it was fair to serve beer provided the head was "not excessive or unreasonable." At the beginning of the millennium, in 2000, the Government announced that pubs that sold pints of less than 95 per cent liquid could be prosecuted, facing fines of up to £1,000, and landlords were given two years to stock up on over-size glasses, but this was never enforced, and you often still see beer wasted as it pours over the top of brim measure glasses into drip trays. Brewers and publicans, consequently, have been allowed to make the customer pay for wasted beer, and/or make extra profit that isn't taxed, for example, by selling more than 72 pints of ale from a 9 gallon firkin/cask, not an uncommon request to local pub managers by their pubco area managers, asking for up to 80 pints of beer sold from a 72 pint firkin. Consequently, Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs lose out on tax revenue too, meaning that we all pay more tax!
Brings a Tear to the Eye!
So why do I believe this is so important? Well, apart from the customer, ie you and me, and HMRC for that matter, being fleeced, a sad fact is that draught beer in licensed premises is the only produce in the country which is allowed to be sold less than is advertised. Imagine the uproar if retailers were allowed to sell any other produce short, eg 18 fags in a pack of 20, 450mls of milk in a pint bottle, put 18 litres of petrol into your car and get charged for 20 litres, 300g of tomatoes in a tin of 400g etc etc... Indeed, selling pints that are not 100% liquid enables brewers and pubs to boost profits by effectively selling air, especially in the North where a 'big head' is actively encouraged by using tight 'sparklers' and, again frustratingly, this practice is even arriving down South these days, frothy beer rules, it seems! And we, the consumer/customer/taxpayer continue to be laughed at by breweries and pubcos as they continue to fleece us... 😕
I originally wrote this blog regarding finding lined oversized glasses in Hastings, so go to the Steve on Hastings blog if you'd like to know which pubs in Hastings use them!
